Comes the Light, A Zutarian's End to Sozin's Comet
by zutara4alwayz
Summary: yea i wrote my own : takes place from when zuko gets shot and on... zutara, of course, and kataang and maiko are discussed. other shippings may be included sukka, slight taang lets see how far i decided to go on this...rated T for some kisssssses.
1. Realization

YAYAYYAAYAYAYAAAYY!! first chapter, read and enjoy :)

**A/N: Imagine that the whole finale is pretty much the same, but i take over from when Zuko gets shot and on... :) **

**I DON'T OWN AVATAR, PEEPS, BUT BOY DO I WISH I DID!**

* * *

**_Comes the Light_**

**_A Zutara Ending to Sozin's Comet_**

"No…" Katara whispered as she watched him fall. The blue light piercing his bare chest fell flat in a second. Lightning coursed through his veins as he squirmed on the ground, every now and then giving off a faint spark.

He had jumped in front of it to save her. Her former enemy, the man she always dreamed of hating forever until recently…Zuko risked his life to save hers. The pain it caused her. Katara's eyes were clouded with tears. _I really have been wrong about him all along…_ A million thoughts could run through her head only in a millisecond, as she quickly had to doge the flash of blue fire headed her way.

"OH ZUZU, you don't look so good!" Azula cried with a mad cackle. She shot deadly flame after flame at the waterbender, who was doing all she could to end it all. Hiding behind a pole, she spied the water running through the grates below her feet, and a chain lying on another pole across from her. And quickly, with Azula frozen with nowhere to run, Katara chained Azula's cursed hands to the grate below.

The two women gasped for air as Katara unfroze the ice casing around them. Without a moment to lose and with Azula's desperate cries of insanity ringing behind her, Katara ran to the former banished prince, her sightline narrowing in on his fateful wound.

Katara knelt beside him, barely keeping her composure, and placed her healing hands on his toned chest. Seeing him in a new light, she could not help but blush. And Zuko, through squinted eyes, could not help but smile at her flushed cheeks. He too began to blush as her hands ran up and down his body. He groaned quietly and shifted his head. The waterbender stopped her movements and elatedly brought her dark hand to her necklace.

Zuko opened his eyes wide enough for Katara to notice. Her eyes were now filled to the brim with tears. He smiled even wider.

"Thank you, Katara, for everything…I don't know how-" He could not finish. She threw her arms around his neck, locking him in a tender embrace. She looked back at him.

"No, Zuko, I believe that it's me who should be thanking you!" A silver tear ran down her flushed cheek. Zuko darted his eyes from her pink lips to her azure eyes. He shifted his hands to the ground, and pressing hard upon it, lifted himself to a sitting position.

Katara never broke her gaze. She moved her upper body up in response to his moving body. Her face was merely inches from his, her lips quivering, thought she was smiling radiantly.

Zuko groaned deeply with pain and Katara, subconsciously, pressed her hand to his wounded chest. The two of them shifted their gaze to her tentative hand. Zuko was breathing deeply, and Katara could feel his wild heartbeat, his increasing along with hers. She looked up at him, and quickly, pressed her lips against his scarred cheek.

Neither one of them saw the peck coming. Katara gasped as a reaction to herself, and Zuko turned so red that he could feel the heat in his cheeks hotter than the heat around him. Embarrassed, she tried to turn her body away from him, but he grabbed her wrist.

"Zuko," She whispered as he tugged her back so that she was facing him again. He cupped her cheeks, and guided her face ever so slowly to his. He shut his eyes, and she shut hers. For a moment, all they could hear was the soft breathing escaping from their lips that were gradually inching together…

Suddenly, Azula's cry in agony interrupted their moment. Katara bent her head down and bit her bottom lip. Zuko sighed as another silver tear escaped her eyes. Zuko arose slowly, extending a cautious hand to Katara, who sat almost motionless on the ground.

She looked up at his face, his _beautiful_ face, and took his gentle hand. Even though it was coarse from the firebending, there was no one else that Katara would have rather shared this moment with.

The two of them crossed the yard to the frantic firebender, who was writhing in pain. She twisted in her chains and bawled, releasing her signature blue fire from her mouth.

"What are we going to do with her?" Katara asked, practically whispering.

Zuko sighed and looked away from his sister. "She needs to be locked up, put in solitary confinement. But she needs enough care so that she will not be doomed to rot in this state." He cleared his throat.

Katara latched her tender arm onto his, and leaned her head into his throbbing bicep. Hesitantly, she nuzzled it gently. Zuko closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Together, they walked away from the scene.

**Okay, so this is the beginning of MY 4-5 part finale, hope you enjoy it. yesss its ZUTARA! i put a lot of thought into this, so review review review!**


	2. Healing

**NO I STILL DON'T OWN AVATAR, I CHECKED.**

Chapter 2: Healing

Zuko looked at wounds, groaning. His body was warm, standing behind the thin red curtains of his private balcony. For the first time in a while, Zuko could close his eyes and feel the heat of the sun that was shining most beautifully upon him. He took a deep breath and blew at his hair hanging in his face.

"There you are. We're all looking for you." Zuko whipped around, a little too quickly, in response to Katara's voice. He groaned slightly. She was leaning against the doorway, wearing a long blue gown that matched her eyes perfectly. And to finish it off, there was a beautiful Panda Lilly settled in her hair.

Katara raised her eyes from the floor and looked up at the gaping Fire Lord. She lifted a hand to her lips and giggled. Zuko closed his mouth and quickly looked away, blushing furiously.

"Here, let me help you with that." Katara crossed the room, almost too slowly, her hips moving in their normal fashion, except this dress seemed to accentuate them. She reached his body and took his sash of his gown in her hands. She moved in closer as she tied the sash, her hot breath gracing his bare chest.

"Thank you" His voice cracked. She roared with laughter.

"Hmm, are you sure that you're _manly_ enough to be the next Fire Lord?" Katara teased. She stepped back to take a look at him.

Zuko furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head. "I hope so…" He smiled at her.

"'I hope so?' Not the answer I would expect from you." She circled him playfully.

"Well, I'm a totally different person, you know…and stop doing that!" He held his bandages and groaned again. She sighed.

"I'm sorry." She shuffled her feet, moving her toes around in her tight shoes. "I'm probably making you late. I'll go. See you in a--"

And just like he had in the courtyard, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, turning her around to face him. She blushed and looked down at her hand. She lifted her other fingers to the back of his hand, gently brushed it, and then tried to leave again.

"No." He tugged her again. She sighed, her eyes watering, and looked him straight in his beautiful golden eyes.

"Katara, there is something I have to tell you."

She sighed and stepped a bit closer. "I think I can guess what it is."

"Katara, I can't go a minute without thinking of you, imagining your face, hearing your voice in the back of my head." He took a deep breath and looked at Katara, who was gazing at him with her shining blue eyes.

"Back in Ba Sing Se, I guess, I developed feelings for you. I thought you were a beautiful and strong willed woman. You could say that I had…a crush on you." He blushed. "And then when I betrayed you and Aang, I knew afterwards that it was your trust that I desired the most. I needed to know you again, and decided that I could have waited forever to see you heal, see you trust me again. And now…Now I cherish every waking moment that we have together and I've…I'm…I'm probably making no sense to you, but…I think I'm in love with you, Katara. No. I know I'm in love with you."

He paused…and waited. She was silent for a moment, and then opened her lips.

"I…well…you…" She stuttered. She couldn't think of a way to clear her thoughts. She couldn't speak. She could only do.

She rushed forward threw her arms around him in a romantic hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist and inhaled to smell her hair.

Katara looked up at him, smiling beautifully, and moved her hands so that they were wrapped around his neck. She pressed onto her tip toes and lifted her lips to his, sealing them with a warm and passionate kiss. Zuko responded immediately and pulled her hips into his so that she was just up against his waist. The two of them gasped for air, and then he pressed his lips hard against hers. He ran his tongue along her lips, and she opened them welcomingly. His smooth tongue ran along the roof of her mouth, and she sighed quietly, causing Zuko's entire body to shake blissfully. He moved his hands and cupped her cheeks. After what seemed like an eternity, she pulled away silently.

"I have to go," She whispered. She kissed his lips quickly. He grabbed her shoulders before she could turn away. He kissed her along her neck. She gasped and moaned slightly, and Zuko went rigid with pleasure.

"Stay with me" He said between kisses.

"I will see you after the ceremonies." Katara struggled to say. She ran her fingers through his hair. "Please, Zuko. Stop." He smiled as he kissed her collar bone. She sighed deeply.

"You smell nice…really nice."

"You're not making this easy." He came to a stop at neck of her dress and raised his head to look at her.

"Please, see me afterwards." Katara smiled at him and caressed his cheek. She traced his scar with her fingers, turned quickly on her heel, and walked towards the doorway. With one last look at him through the closing doors, she slipped away from the room, running down the hallway.

She was running so fast, that she didn't happen to notice the pale tall woman with the straight jet black hair gliding the opposite way from the closed doors.

* * *

**Hmm, someone is upset...or is she? REVIEW**


	3. Reconciliation

**I DON'T OWN AVATAR.**

Chapter 3: Reconciliation

Mai couldn't say that she was devastated, but she also couldn't say that she was happy. She took quick steps down the long hallways of the palace.

She had always had feelings for Zuko, since the first day they met. She had dreamed of spending her life with him as a little girl, little fantasies that only a child would have. She had found it exhilarating, for in her love for him, she had a reason to feel _something_… or at least, she thought she did.

During the times that she was with Zuko, she tried everything she could to make him love her as much as she did…or did she? She was a lazy person, maybe she could have put in more effort.

But her relationship with Zuko was never solid. They were always either bickering helplessly or excessively romantic, which was not really "the norm" for most couples. The excessively romantic part might have been ideal for the dreams she had when she was a child, but things are always different in reality…

Mai was so lost in her thoughts that she was not paying attention to the countless stairways that she was crossing. She crossed her arms and sighed deeply.

_If I love Zuko so much, then shouldn't I be more upset? _She was kissing her boyfriend! The water tribe girl was kissing her boyfriend! They hardly knew each other, right? Shouldn't she be crying her eyes out?

Wait…was Zuko still her boyfriend?

Mai had drifted into the uppermost level of the palace, near the open balcony.

Zuko never took the time to say good bye, he just wrote her a stupid letter. And Mai was just now coming to the realization that Zuko could not love her the way that she loved him. _Makes sense_ she grumbled. Whenever they were together, there was a certain unnatural tension between them. It was as if his mind was…somewhere else. He either was too passionate with her, as if to cloud his deep thoughts…or just didn't care at all, letting his thoughts drift to that troubled mind of his.

She stopped in her tracks, for there in front of her was the demon himself. She had accidentally stumbled up the stairs of his balcony and onto its surface. And he was standing there, staring at her silently.

"A hello would suffice…"

"Mai!" His face lit up and he ran to her, throwing his large arms around her. He had become as energetic as a puppy in a split second. But then in half that time, his face had become sour. He was looking in her cold eyes. He stepped back.

"Mai…"

"You don't have to say anything. I know all about everything."

He took another step back. "What do you mean?"

"I know that you don't love me." Her expression remained unchanged, she blinked slowly, as if totally uninterested.

"Mai, I--"

"She's pretty."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"She's pretty. That water tribe girl. Beautiful, actually." Zuko couldn't help but blush.

"She is…But so are you, Mai." He walked forward as if to embrace her, but she turned her shoulder, her back now facing him.

"Save it, Zuko, you're not exactly making this easy."

Zuko put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Mai, you have to listen to me. You are a beautiful girl."

She huffed. "I get that a lot…" She peered at him from over her shoulder and smiled shyly. "Just kidding."

He laughed quietly. "Mai, you have been there for me for my entire life." Mai, pale as ever, turned the slightest shade of red. "And for that, I will never be able to thank you enough."

She turned around and looked at his fiery eyes, and for some inexplicable reason, they seemed the slightest bit duller than she remembered.

"I love you, Mai." He smiled widely.

"But not how you love her…"

He nodded slowly. "But it's love nonetheless"

She looked to the side and smiled slightly. "I would say the same to you, but you know me…"

Suddenly he swept her up in a warm embrace.

"Okay, okay! This is getting to be too mushy for me. Since when did you get all soft anyways?"

He smiled a familiar smile. "I've changed."

Mai rolled her eyes.

"Well, thanks for the memories, kid." She put a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled a crooked smile before turning on her heel.

"You're going to find someone someday, someone who's crazy about you." He called from behind her.

"Yea yea, thanks daddy." She waved her hand limply and started down the stairs.

Putting a thin finger to her lips, she whispered _I'm totally better off without him…_

**Heehee, so that gets rid of mai. i actually thought about that a lot. she needed to be the one to forgive him first. :) REV-you**


	4. Sacrafice

**I DON'T OWN AVATAR.**

Chapter 4: Sacrifice

Katara stood in the very front of the large crowd at the coronation ceremony. She smiled radiantly, and was picking at the flower in her hair.

With Aang at his side, Zuko announced his desire for a new era of love and peace, which received a thunderous applause. He smiled too, as the sun reflected off of his golden eyes. Without hesitation, he shot a look at the young woman in the front row, and smiled at her. She smiled back, and he could see the tears twinkling in her blue orbs.

And as they exchanged glances back and forth, the boy with the big gray eyes watched silently and his eyebrows furrowed into a permanent glare.

* * *

After the ceremonies, the gang met up for tea in the re-opened Jasmine Dragon. Aang shuffled his feet a bit in the corner of the room as he watched Katara and Zuko interact, their eyes never breaking complete contact. Occasionally Zuko would run his fingers along the back of her hand, and she would turn a slight pink. Aang turned on his heel, holding his glider, and headed out the doorway and into the courtyard of the teashop.

He sunk his elbows into the railing and sighed. He should have seen this coming. Just days ago, Katara had expressed confusion about their relationship…but why did he still have to feel so hurt? Aang sighed and tossed a pebble out into the unknown. He reached down to grab another when a dark hand grabbed his bicep.

Aang looked at Katara, her eyes wide and compassionate. He struggled to smile as she rushed forward, grabbing him around the neck and pressing her head into his shoulder. After a moment she stepped back, noticing how he had not responded at all. She looked into his grey puppy eyes, and could immediately tell that something was wrong

"Aang…" She whispered. "Why, Aang? When there is so much to be happy about, why must you be so sad?"

"You know very well why." He turned away from her and placed an elbow on the railing.

"I think I might." She put her hand on his shoulder, "Aang, I--"

"Katara, I thought that after all of this was all over, you and I would be together. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. All this time that we have spent around each other, all this time that I thought you just might have feelings for me, you've been…faking it?"

"Not faking it, Aang, just unsure. You came to conclusions too quickly." She stepped back and tried to keep away the tears, taking a deep breath.

"Katara, please. Just tell me: Are you in love with me?" He paused and waited, only to hear the sounds of her sucking in tears. He turned around and approached her.

"Please, please don't cry Katara." He moved to wrap his arms around her, but decided against it.

"Aang, I love you, I do." She said shakily. "I mean, I don't know where I would be if I hadn't found you in that iceberg." She laughed slightly "Look at me, Aang. Look at how far I have come as a bender…and as a person! It's all because I found you, Aang, and you gave me…hope." She laughed at the irony. Those Ember Island Players weren't so off after all.

"Hope…" He stepped back. "But Katara, I have taken so long to build up the courage to tell you."

"Aang, I know it must've taken a lot of courage to tell me like this, but you have to listen to me…"

"That play was right, wasn't it? I'm just like a brother to you, aren't I?" He practically spat out the word "brother" as if it was a filthy remark.

Katara stood next to him. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Aang, you're not listening to me. I love you more than words could ever describe, and watching you be hurt like this is so painful for me to endure…but I want you to try and accept the way things are, and realize that even though things have happened differently than both of us ever planned, things will work out in the end."

She turned to look at him, though he was looking away.

"Aang, promise me that you will try. What you are doing now is only hurting yourself…and all those who love and protect you."

Aang slowly turned to look at Katara. The Panda Lilly was losing petals and she was on the verge of tears. How she remained so stable, he would never know. Without a care in the world, he lunged forward and kissed her on the cheek.

Katara looked away and blushed. She frowned a bit and stepped back.

"I love you, Katara."

A tear slid down her cheek, and she swept it away with her finger.

"And, the last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you…So I will try."

Hearing this, Katara burst into tears and rushed forward to embrace him again, and this time, he dropped his glider and threw his arms around her waist and squeezed her tightly. He buried his head in her shoulder and whispered and felt the hot tears surge from his eyes.

"What's… happening?" he stuttered

"You're growing up, Aang…And I am so proud of you…"

She smiled, despite her tears and released her head from his shoulder. He let her go, and she stepped back silently. With one last smile, she disappeared into the doors of the Jasmine Dragon.

_I'm letting her go…_ he thought. _The only way is to let her go…_

He picked up his glider and flew off into the dusk sky.

* * *

**So Aang is confused, and the story is not over, but kinda close. here's the problem tho, i'll be gone fro 2 weeks and will be unable to update, so i wanted to get all that i had written up on fanfiction before it was too late for "re-do's" of the finale :) i hope you all are enjoying where this is going.**

-zutara4alwayz


	5. Advice

**I DO NOT OWN AVATAR, CAPICHE?!**

Chapter 5: Advice

Aang was slowly losing the grip on his glider, and himself. He shook his head dizzily as the sky in front of him grew darker.

_How could I be so stupid?_ He asked himself. He shook his head even more, in an attempt to rid his face of the stinging tears. Had he really been blind as to her feelings all this time?

He flew for so long that he began to lose track of the time. The sun was setting in front of him, but his eyes were so clouded by his inner thoughts that he did not notice. Suddenly he came to the realization that the moon had become bright and visible and that the sun was nowhere to be found. Quickly, he turned around and headed back to his temporary quarters in the palace.

He tiptoed quietly into his room, making sure to leave no trace of his disappearance. He couldn't hear anyone in the palace, so he figured that they must have either gone out looking for him or fallen asleep. Aang rubbed the back of his small head and threw himself on the bed, feet propped up on the pillows and head nearly dangling off the foot of the bed. He had forgotten how tall he had gotten recently.

He was about to fall asleep in that position when he heard someone enter his room, not-so-quietly shutting the door behind them. He opened his eyes and twisted his head around.

"Who's there?"

"You really had us worried, Twinkletoes!"

Aang almost leapt of the bed in response to Toph's lively and authoritative tone. He regained his composure and sat up to face her. She was wearing her long green nightgown, and was rubbing her eyes as she yawned deeply. She stood squarely near the foot of the bed, her bare feet planted strongly on the wooden floor. For the first time in a while, Aang was able to witness the green-eyed earth bender's hair at its full length: hovering just above the small of her back.

He blinked for a moment, then turned his body so that he was sitting facing the window.

"How did you--"

"I felt you walk in! Never underestimate my sense of 'sight'" She hiccupped and walked to stand in front of the window, blocking the glorious moonlight that coated Aang's face.

"Okay, Twinkletoes, what happened? Fess up." She raised one eyebrow.

"There's nothing much to 'fess up.' I just finally realized how stupid I am." He tried to look away from her captivated eyes. Thought they were clouded, he could feel them examining him. She squinted slightly.

"Does this have anything to do with Katara and Zuko?" Uh oh. No nicknames. She was being serious. Suddenly, it all flowed out of him.

"She doesn't even know him! She hates him! Doesn't she?!" He punched the mattress. "I mean, how could this happen?! I was so sure that things would turn out differently. I hate being so naïve!" He slapped his palms to the sides of his head, propping his elbows on his thighs. Toph slowly moved to sit beside him, dangling her bare feet in the moonlight shining through the window.

"Aang, listen to me. You can't beat yourself up about this. You're getting all hung up on something that isn't your fault."

"But it is my fault!" He choked "If I had just been more…"

"More what?! Un-Aang-ish? Oh I get it, so if you had been born a totally different human being, none of this would be a problem! Okay!" She huffed and crossed her arms.

"She doesn't love me, and I don't know why. I can't understand…"

"So you blame yourself?" Aang shut his eyes tightly and nodded a yes, and then a no.

"Aang, someone once told me that destiny is a funny thing." She inched closer to Aang, who was almost limp with frustration. "I didn't really get it at that point, but I think I'm starting to understand it. None of us know how things are going to happen in the future. So, none of us can really control it. None of us can control how well or how badly things will turn out, or whether or not they will happen the way we expected them to. But what we do know is that our destinies are constantly shifting and changing, bending and weaving along with the destinies of whom we know and love. So when you're feeling upset about things not turning up how you planned them to, remember that you and Katara will always be connected in that sense, and that if you had never found each other, you would probably be living totally different lives right now, following drastically different paths of life. And who knows how miserable you could have been…I mean, knowing you, you'd probably still be in that big old ice berg!"

Aang looked up from his fetal position to look at Toph. His eyes trailed up from the ends of her ebony hair to her green and clouded eyes. He smiled widely and struggled to keep in the urge to throw his arms around her. And letting his loving instincts take over, he threw himself to her, locking her in a tight embrace.

Aang saw her arms rise up in surprise when he hugged her. They remained in the air as he tightened his arms around her waist, feeling the softness of her hair draped over the small of her back. He smiled and exhaled deeply. And slowly, he felt her risen arms fall around his neck hesitantly. It was as if she had suddenly let her guard down, letting the sympathetic emotion flow through.

"Trust me, everything will turn out for the better." She whispered.

"But why should I believe you?"

"Because I said so." And with that, the guard was back up, and she let go of him, leaning back in order to release his hold on her. He looked away, and when he looked back, he thought he could see the slightest tinge of rouge grace her pale cheeks. It was gone in a millisecond, and was replaced by a smile…a devious smile…

"OW! What was that for?!" Aang was rubbing the tender part on his arm where she had punched him sharply.

"That's how I show affection, Twinkletoes." She winked at him. He rolled his eyes. "Feeling any less stupid?"

"Definitely." He stared at down long ivory hair again, which was almost sparkling. He almost wanted to reach out and caress it, but she moved quickly and arose from the bed.

"Goodnight, Twinkletoes." She saluted him and turned on her heel. She walked with her usual gait back to the door. It creaked as it opened, and the wind carried her hair behind her as she slipped through the opening. She closed the door quickly, before he could even respond to her.

Even if she had given him the chance to speak, he was not sure that he would have been able to anyways.

* * *

**YAY i'm back! wow i've been out and about for the last month, my own house feels like a foreign country to me! well at least i'm back home on FF! review, please :)**


	6. Awakening

**I DON'T NOT NOT OWN IT.**

**Chapter 6: Awakening**

Over the mountains and through the thickness of the misty morning, Aang could be seen sitting on his window ledge, dangling his rather small feet out of the window. He had gotten hardly any sleep the night before, and his eye lids were just now drooping as the combined weight of gravity and fatigue settled upon him.

Listening to Toph's words of wisdom had caused him to think more than he had ever intended to think on the subject, and his sleep was paying the price. She was right in saying that things had not turned out the way he had planned them to, but could he believe what she wanted him to believe about him and Katara always being connected through their intertwined destinies? How could he be so sure that after today, when they were to each choose their next steps in rebuilding the world, that he would ever see her again?

Aang, no matter how strong he had grown in the past months, no matter how hard he tried to let the Guru's words drill into his head, still could not let her go.

In one swift motion, he reached for his glider, and stepped out into the mist of the morning, the weight of his pain lifting as he flew into the sunrise.

* * *

Katara was feeling warmer than ever under the fire nation sheets. She wasn't sure if she was blushing, or if it was the layers of clothing she was wearing. It wasn't until she peeked through squinted eyes to see that it was a combination of two things: The sun shining gloriously on her body, and the body of the man lying beside her, which was radiating furious heat.

She blinked quickly, and cleared the sweat from her brow, wiping it hastily on the sheets. She waited for her vision to clear, so that she could recognize her surroundings. One look at the cascading curtains on large marble pillars caused the memories to flood her in an instant. She laid there, wide eyed, replaying last night's events in her head.

She and Zuko had met up in his quarters after an evening at the tea shop, and through a combined effort had pushed Zuko's king sized bed to the opening of the balcony, just close enough to the outside so that they could sit on the foot of the bed and make pictures in the stars above them. She smiled in spite of her condition, remembering how Zuko curled his arm around her waist and had whispered soothingly in her ear. She remembered placing a cautious hand on his bare chest, and entangling cautious fingers in his hair. She remembered falling back, his body beside her…

She shot up from the bed, gasping, biting her lip to keep from screaming. She was blushing furiously, running her fingers through her bed-head hair. Zuko smiled and sat up within three seconds of her sudden movement. He rubbed his eyes groggily and groaned.

"Mmm this how you wake up every morning?" He yawned and she glared at him.

"What am I doing here!?" She snapped

"You fell asleep here, I guess. I was too lazy to move you." He smiled again, putting his hand behind her neck, and moved in to whisper in her ear. She turned her head and moved backwards.

"I…fell asleep?" Zuko's face formed into one of confusion.

"Yes, you did! Katara, what do you--" He stopped, and analyzed the blanket held tightly at the base of her neck, her cheeks a furious red, and her eyes shaking nervously. He was silent with sudden understanding.

"Well…did we?"

At that, Zuko roared with laughter, so loud that the entire palace must have heard him. Though it would have seemed impossible, Katara turned an even more fabulous shade of red, and put her palm over his mouth in an attempt to silence him. He quieted down, and she lifted her hand off of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, Katara. It's just the look on your face is priceless! Plus, I didn't know anyone could turn as red as you are now…"

The corner of her lips turned upwards ever so slightly and she directed her gaze away from his.

"Don't worry, it's beautiful." He assured her. "No, we didn't. I mean, you're still wearing the clothes you were wearing when you came in last night."

She peered under the sheets she was gripping to see that she was, in fact, wearing her familiar blue night gown and pants. Katara looked back at his golden eyes, and the red in her face began to fade ever so slowly. Zuko caught one of her loose hairs and twisted it between his fingers.

"Katara, I would never take advantage of you like that…"

"Oh don't tell me you haven't thought of it!" She smiled smugly at him.

"You didn't let me finish. I would never take advantage of you like that…without your total consent." He smiled back at her. She leaned in and planted a kiss on his smiling lips. She could feel his smile widen as she moved her fingers up the back of his neck and into his tangled hair.

"But you have thought about it…" She whispered into his lips. She could feel him turning red.

"Have I mentioned how beautiful you look under the sunrise?"

"Oh you've definitely thought about it!"

"How can I not?! You're kind of gorgeous…Plus I'm a teenage boy." She laughed quietly as she kissed his jaw bone. She couldn't help but feel…flattered.

Katara released one hand from his hair and placed it on the base of his neck. Her fingers trailed down his bare chest tenderly, like rain on a window sill. She stopped at his waist, right above the sash of his pants. She could feel his breathing stop as she lightly poked his stomach.

"Maybe someday…" She whispered into his ear, right before ruffling his hair. She kissed him quickly on the cheek and hopped off of the bed. Her eyes darted around to find her shoes.

"You're terrible." He said releasing all the air he had locked inside of him.

"Yet you still can't stand to see me go!" She smiled again, smug as ever, and Zuko's cheeks turned a fresh pink. She reached over to his hair so that she could stroke it once more.

"See you at breakfast?" She whispered.

"You will be the death of me."

Katara laughed. "I'll take that as a yes."

She turned on her heal and skipped, lightly as ever, to the door across the room. She practically floated through it and into the hallway. Suddenly, her blue eyes wide with a smile, met green ones, wide with wonder along with a smile that was deviously smug.

"So…you and Sparky…"

"Toph! I--"

"Say no more! I saw the whole thing." She winked at Katara, and as she passed her in the hallway, she elbowed her in the arm, whispering, "Have I mentioned how beautiful you look under the sunrise?" followed by a muffled giggle. Toph's steps became livelier as she passed by.

Immediately, Katara's cheeks were flaming.

* * *

**this one makes me giggle a bit. only a few more chapters left! possibly one...possibly two. i'm still wingin' it on this one! REVIEW.**


End file.
